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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. squash — the sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. club — for golf
  5. current — of water
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. club — for dancing
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. current — happening now
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. current — electric
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. field — a subject
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com